Artemis Fowl and the Coastal Crisis
Disclaimer: I do not own Artemis Fowl, Eoin Colfer does, and I worship the ground he walks on for creating my hero that is Artemis Fowl the Second. Oh how I wish little Arty was mine… and yet… he's not. So don't sue me please.
Chapter Two
Surprise! A Vacation Cut Short
Just outside of Nice, France
A large chateau graced the cliffs along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea and this was not just any type of chateau. High tech cameras scoped every centimeter of the ten-foot wall surrounding the chateau and heat and motion triggers lined the perimeter. This chateau was owned by the infamous Artemis Fowl the Second, who happened to be sleeping in at the moment.
He slept soundly underneath the silk sheets, and barely winced as Madeline not so silently got up from the bed. She smiled as she glanced over her shoulder and made her way to the giant window.
"Artemis, wake up!" Madeline called as she pulled back the laced curtains and threw open the windows, bathing the entire room in bright sunlight. Artemis moaned as he pulled the covers back over his head and rolled away from the dreaded window.
"Madeline, I've been getting up at 5:30 everyday for the past six years. I think I deserve some extra sleep on my vacation," Artemis drawled from underneath the sheets. Madeline smiled and returned to the bed.
"Come one, wake up my little vampire. I want to go to the beach!" she whined and tugged at the covers.
"It's a private beach, you can go," he muttered and Madeline finally succeeded in unearthing him. She pulled him from his side and onto his back. He blinked groggily at her and she tousled his hair.
"Come on," she pulled his shoulders a bit.
"Ah," he muttered, "alright," he finally consented as she pulled him upright. "I'm awake," he sighed as he rubbed his eyes. Madeline cheered as she bounced off the bed and opened a drawer in the rather large mahogany dresser.
"Which bathing suit should I wear?" she asked, thumbing threw them. Artemis' eyes widened as he shot out of the bed.
"I don't know, please refrain from asking me," he said as he disappeared into the bathroom. Madeline laughed as she chose a blue patterned bikini and changed into it before following him. He was washing his face, and was already wearing his knee length lightweight robe. Madeline smiled and put some sunscreen on her face and plucking some designer sunglasses from the rack on her side of the bathroom.
"Are you ready yet?" she asked, gently grabbing onto Artemis' arm. He sighed and reached for his own sunglasses; the ones he always wore, wherever he was, and donned them on.
"Yes," he said with a sigh and let her lead him out through the sunlight hallway. They made their way down the outdoor slate stairway to the sandy white beach. Madeline giggled with girlish glee as she let go of his arm to run into the turquoise waves. Artemis could not help but smirk at her simple pleasure of the ocean as he sat down on a pristine white lounge chair underneath a shell-like umbrella. Artemis took his cell phone from the pocket of his robe and quickly began checking the security cameras.
Butler had wanted to come, but Artemis had convinced him to stay at Fowl Manor. Butler was getting older and older, after his practical revival by Holly, he was never the same, but that was many years earlier, and now he was even more aged. There was talk of assigning Artemis a new Butler, but that was still in the works. Artemis, along with Madeline had convinced his parents that they would be all right, and would actually prefer it, if they were left alone on their vacation.
Artemis flipped from camera to camera, scanning the perimeter and watching the entranceways to the grounds. He glanced up to see Madeline picking up small sea creatures such as starfish and a few seashells. He smirked at her as she held up a pretty shell at him.
"Do you think I could make a necklace out of these?" she cried picking up other shells. His smirk widened.
"Sure," Artemis shrugged. Madeline giggled again, flipping her hair over her shoulder and bending over to get more shells from the surf around her feet. Artemis laughed and returned to checking the cameras on his cell phone and something caught his eye: tiny imprints in the sand appearing out of nowhere? Artemis paused on that screen and zoomed in, isolating the screen and freezing it. He sharply inhaled when he saw it indeed was caused by a fairy, and a LEPrecon officer by the look of it, fully armed. Artemis shifted in his chair as he watched two, three, no four officers patrol past his camera, and he quickly switched feeds as an icy feeling began to well up in his throat. He sat up bolt right when the fairies readied their Neutrinos. There was a moment when the fairies seemed to converse with one another, then they spread out, and began towards the beach.
Right about now Artemis was regretting leaving Butler behind.
"Madie," he called as he stood up, switching from camera feed to camera feed, memorizing where each of the fairies were, and how they were approaching. Madeline straightened up, holding an armful of shells. She looked back at him, blissfully unaware. "Madie, we should get inside," he added and started back towards the chateau, beckoning her to come with him.
"What? We just got out here, Arty," she replied and Artemis stopped.
"Madeline, I don't have time to argue. We need to get back," he called, his voice much more stern and the playful color drained from his wife's face. She scampered from the water and scurried to him. He grabbed her hand and pulled her up along the steps. She dropped the shells and clung to his arm, glancing around. The fairies were still near the perimeter; he and Madeline had a few minutes. He hurriedly went into the chateau and wove through the passages, dragging Madeline along with him. He brought her into a rather secluded room of the chateau and shut the door. He proceeded to lock the four locks on the door, while Madeline stared at them incredulously. Artemis turned around to meet her astonished face and gave a wry smile.
"Butler wouldn't let us go unprepared," he stated as he brushed past her and tapped a small pad in the wall. Lights flickered on and the small room was flooded with white artificial light.
"What is this?" Madeline asked in pure shock, as she walked along the illuminated catwalk.
"Well Madeline, as you fully well know, we Fowls have not always been ah, how can I put this bluntly, on the right side of the law," Artemis explained as they walked along the catwalk. Madeline stopped and leaned over the railing, gazing on in amazement. "We have to have backup plans and it is a hard-learned lesson," Artemis added as he too stared down at the sight beneath him: docks with several different modes of transportation, each more high-tech than the last, it seemed. Madeline straightened up from over the railing and turned back to Artemis.
"Artemis," she asked flatly, "is that… a submarine?" she almost gasped at the very word, pointing to one of the crafts in the docks. Artemis looked over and gave a small chuckle when he saw it.
"Yes," he conceded as he began shuffling down the metal staircase. "But you won't be using that," he said. "You'll be using this," he added, rounding on a blue and silver speedboat. Madeline finished descending the staircase before her gaze shot up to Artemis' face and away from the boat.
"I'll be using? What about you?" she asked, and a small smirk stretched the corners of Artemis' mouth.
"I'm not going anywhere," he stated and Madeline hurried forward to him.
"I'm not leaving you!" she cried. "It's them, isn't it? Those fairies that kidnapped you; they're back," his silence answered her. "I'm not leaving!" she restated and Artemis' steely eyes glinted at her.
"Madeline, they are after me. I do not know why. In fact, there are too many possible reasons for me to count and too many possible sentences as well. If you stay here, you will only get in their way to me. And you will only hamper my abilities to negotiate and act," Artemis stated through clenched teeth. Madeline looked taken aback, and rightly so. Artemis took the opportunity to nudge her into the boat. She yelped as she fell into the seat and her feet hung over the side. Artemis leaned over her to get to the control panel. He turned it on and the gages began to turn as the motor roared to life. He began to poke away at the touch screen. "This boat will take you Nice, and there you will get on the fist available route back home. Call Butler on the way, and tell him what has happened. If I do not call within twenty four hours… well, we'll get to that when it happens," Artemis muttered as he made some final adjustments to the boats navigational systems and pushed the 'go' button. The motor shifted into gear and began to move away, Madeline arguing all the way as she struggled to right herself. For a moment Artemis thought she was going to jump out of the boat and swim back. To his relief, she did not. He nonchalantly waved a short goodbye and began his way backup the staircase.
Artemis tapped on one of the touch screens and the wall at the top of the staircase slid open to reveal another room. He stepped into it as the lights flickered on and the monitors and hard drives whirred to life. The door shut automatically behind him and he paused briefly as he listened to the electronic locks and machines click into place. He stared at the screens that automatically locked onto the movement of brush by wind, which was then tested to find that it was in fact caused by fairies. The fairies were getting closer. He sat down on the large swivel chair and continued staring at the monitors from over steeped fingers. What was it this time, he wondered. And more importantly, how was he going to get out of it? It was time for some meditation.
Author's Note: La di da. Yet another chappie. Arg, some heavy brainstorming is in the works for me. .